Woman charged with aggravated assault after incident at RV park

LEEDS — Washington County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 40-year-old woman in Leeds New Year’s Eve on multiple charges, including aggravated assault related to domestic violence, trespass and assault of a police officer, among others.

At 12:18 a.m., deputies responded to the Leeds RV Park and made contact with a woman, identified as Rebecca Savage, who had reportedly been breaking items in a trailer and had threatened a man with a knife, swinging it at him and holding it to his chest while grabbing his throat, according to a probable cause statement supporting the arrest. The man was able to get away and call law enforcement.

Washington County Sheriff’s deputies found the woman with another woman in a vehicle outside the trailer where she appeared to be calm. She, the woman with her, and the man who was allegedly assaulted were interviewed and the trailer was investigated, Washington County Sheriff’s deputy Forrest VanWest wrote in the statement.

The woman and the man who reported the incident had gotten into a verbal argument turned violent over whether she was allowed to stay at the trailer as the man allegedly had a new girlfriend staying there as well, VanWest wrote in his statement.

The deputies searched and were unable to find the knife as the woman said she was not sure where she had left it.

“While looking for the knife, I found a plastic bag with green leafy substance laying on top of some women’s jeans,” VanWest wrote in the statement. “From my experience and training, the green leafy substance was consistent with marijuana. I smelled the substance and it smelled of marijuana.”

Savage admitted the jeans were hers, knew about the marijuana, but claimed it was the man’s, according to VanWest’s statement. She was determined to be the primary aggressor and placed under arrest at which time she become violent.

“(She) refused to place her hands behind her back, balled up her fists, swinging back violently,” the statement reported.

The woman was put in a twist lock to apply the cuffs. Once arrested she was violent and used profane language in the patrol car, eventually slipping out of one of her handcuffs. She was removed from the car and placed into the custody of Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility by booking staff with the help of VanWest.

The Washington County Attorney’s office brought nine counts against Savage via an Information filed the same day that included charges for: aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; criminal mischief, criminal trespass and assault against a peace officer, all three class A misdemeanors; assault, possession or use of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and interference with arresting officer, all four class B misdemeanors; and disorderly conduct, a class C misdemeanor.

Savage’s arrest was also made on a $2,500 warrant issued by Judge Ludlow on Dec. 8, 2014.

According to the probable cause statement, Savage has a history of mental illness and had been formally trespassed from the RV Park by its manager and a sheriff’s deputy in October 2014. She said she had been staying there for the past two weeks, VanWest’s statement said.

Prior to this, his statement said, Savage had been staying at Switchpoint – a community resource center in St. George for impoverished and homeless people in need.

Savage’s initial appearance before 5th District Court in Washington County was held Friday at 1:30 p.m., after being rescheduled from Wednesday when she was uncooperative, according to the court’s minute entry on the docket. Judge John Walton set bail for her release at $10,000, cash or bond, advised of her right to counsel and appointed her an attorney.

Savage’s next appearance is a roll call appearance set for Jan. 12. As of Saturday, Savage remains in custody at Purgatory Correctional Facility and has not posted bail, according to Washington County Sheriff’s Office booking information.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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7 Comments

  • Cedrik January 3, 2015 at 10:54 am

    So the headline says Aggravated Assault. Why did you choose not to include Domestic Violence in the Headline as well? Whether you intentionally or unintentionally left that out of the headline it shows a definite double standard that the media has in reporting Domestic Violence.

  • koolaid January 3, 2015 at 12:06 pm

    “Can’t we all just get along?”

  • ladybugavenger January 3, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    Names are funny….savage…was there really any hope?

  • Herd January 3, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    If the woman knows how to handle a knife, she ought to be considered a prize and highly sought after by hunters. Bonus points if she can also drive a truck and shoot a gun.

  • Dana January 4, 2015 at 5:14 am

    With a name like Savage, well….

  • kacee January 4, 2015 at 10:14 am

    Better get ALLOUT BAIL BONDS! Ha ha

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